Case Synopsis59-year Leon Hicks, co-owner of Hicks Brothers Restaurant at 1501 East 23rd Street, finished work the evening of March 10, 1972. As part of his normal routine, Hicks took his teenage dishwasher home, dropped his girlfriend at her house, and then went to his residence at a trailer park on South Holly Street.

Sometime after 2:00am on March 11, 1972, neighbor Ray Gorrell heard gunshots and went to investigate. He found Leon Hicks lying dead at the foot of the steps to Hicks’ trailer. Hicks had been shot three times.

Evidence recovered at the murder scene included three .38 projectiles and a fedora hat.

Initially, the investigation revealed no known suspects.

In late March 1972, the Chattanooga FBI Office received information from the US District Attorney’s Office in Atlanta leading to the identity of suspect Harry Brooks Daniels, white male, DOB 12/29/1910.

Daniels was a career criminal who lived in Atlanta but frequented Chattanooga. In the months prior to Hicks’ murder, Daniels had robbed several Chattanooga restaurants and taverns, including the popular Black Angus.

Numerous people reported Daniels bragged about killing Hicks and showed them a gunshot wound he claimed he received during the struggle with the tavern owner.

In April 1972, police executed a search warrant of Daniels’ Atlanta apartment. They recovered a pair of bloodstained shorts, five (5) fedora hats of the same size as the one collected from the murder scene and various medical supplies indicative of ongoing treatment for a gunshot wound.

Harry Brooks Daniels was brought to Chattanooga and indicted on the Black Angus armed robbery. But the murder investigation stalled.

Recent DevelopmentsIn March 2015, the DA’s Cold Case Unit requested Chattanooga Police files on two known cold cases. In the bottom of one of the boxes we found a dirty, moldy old satchel. The 1972 Leon Hicks file was discovered inside the satchel.

Defense attorney Jerry Summers provided invaluable assistance to this unit in securing the cooperation of a key witness who corroborated much of the information found in the file. The name of the witness will not be released. He agreed to speak with us only on the condition his personal identifying information be kept confidential.

A review of Leon Hicks obituary shows he had two adult children, Mike Hicks of Chattanooga and Mrs. William Griffith of Erlanger, Kentucky. Our attempts to locate them have been unsuccessful. If anyone knows how to contact either of them, please have them call the Cold Case Unit at 423-209-7470 or by email at coldcases@hcdatn.org .

Based on a thorough review of the evidence, it is the conclusion of District Attorney Neal Pinkston and the Cold Case Unit that if the individuals involved in the original investigation, including suspect Harry Brooks Daniels, were alive today, Daniels would be prosecuted for the murder of Leon Hicks.

As a result, Chattanooga Police will be closing this case as “exceptionally cleared” due to the death of the defendant.

DA’s Cold Case UnitDistrict Attorney Neal Pinkston created the Cold Case Unit in September of 2014 to review the nearly 200 unsolved homicides and missing persons cases in Hamilton County. The Unit is led by retired CPD Captain Mike Mathis. The Chattanooga Police Department and the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office each provide an investigator to the unit.

Update 1:As a result of media coverage of this case, we received a call from the victim’s nephew. He put us in touch with his father, Buck Hicks. Buck is the brother of Leon Hicks and was the co-owner of Hicks Brothers Restaurant. Buck is 91yo, currently recovering from a medical issue, and due to his condition asks that he not be contacted by media this week. We did get a lead on Leon Hick’s son (Mike Hicks) and are trying to contact him now. If that pans out, and Mike Hicks is agreeable to media interviews, we’ll let you know.

Update 2:Melydia Clewell made contact with Mike Hicks, the victim’s son. Mike advises he was 12yo at the time of his father’s murder. He saw the media coverage when we established the Cold Case Unit and had considered contacting us to ask that we take a look at his dad’s case. If you are interested in talking with him, please contact Melydia at melydia.clewell@hcdatn.org.